A Day with Our Friends at Cascade Powder Cats

February 26, 2009May 11, 2016

Yesterday, the staff at RMI took a little break from the office to get some backcountry turns in with our friends at Cascade Powder Cats. As the company exists to serve those people who venture to far away places, it is only right that we, as a staff, ensure that we never loose the connect we have with those places or our clients. More truthfully, when one of your clients, owner Ryan Murray, provides the opportunity to go skiing in the backcountry of the Cascades during a work day, you take it.

Cascade Powder Cats Yurt is positioned a short skin up from awesome terrain.

On Tuesday, ten RMI staff piled into the cat at Steven’s Pass and drove ten miles up to the Powder Cats Yurt which is situated only several minutes from the first run of the day. After a hearty meal, prepared by our Medical Director, Dr. Michael Cull, some cards, box wine and as few medical conversations as possible we went to sleep listening to the sound of snow piling up on the yurt roof.

The next morning, after a good cup of coffee, we met up with our guides Ryan Murray, Jay Bright, with Cat Operator Gabe Winter and headed off to the slopes, a short three minute ride away.

The terrain is amazing, trees,

RMI staff get ready for a day of backcountry skiing with Cascade Powder Cats

cliffs, bowls, and lower-angle wide open lines with incredible views. As a former guide, I really appreciate the proficiency, approachability and situational awareness that all three of our guides have obviously mastered. The day continued with sunbreaks interupting dumping snow, in short, a beautiful day in the cascades. While I haven’t gotten out much this year, there is no doubt is was the best day of the season, surround by silence and good people. I highly recommend Cascade Powder Cats, especially with a group – I am certain this will be an annual winter trip for the RMI crew.

Remote Area Paramedic Dave Mull enjoys floating in the powder, getting some turns while off his regular rotation on a ship in the tropics.

Looking around at RMI staff dropping cliffs, pushing each other over, or probing for the 160/140mm powder ski, I couldn’t imagine a better place to work or a better crew to work with. Recently in an interview with the Seattle Times, we were discussing the elements that contribute to our success as a company and I am not sure whether it is the fact that we do get out a lot together, or the staff chemistry that allows us to. Either way, there is something very important about trips like this that plays into our ability to manage international operations and complex projects.

We continue to look for experienced people of similar mentality and work-ethic who both work hard and play hard. While we continue our triple digit growth, I believe it is imperative to ensure that our bonds stay strong, we work unencumbered as a team, pursue the activities that inspired us into this work in the first place and finally ensure that we support organizations that allow people to experience wilderness, whether for work or play, in the safest way possible. While this is a much less formal blog entry for me, my two points are: